I don’t fear the walking dead like most people, but that may be because I grew up playing Red Rover with them. Once they begin to decay, they’re not very fast, but they’re guaranteed to break through the clenched fists of the other team when they run through them. Sometimes they break those fists off completely. When you’ve watched a dead man do the chicken dance upon your order, it’s hard to take them seriously. So death is the one thing I don’t fear. Not when the living are more terrifying. I grew up with a certain set of rules that my dads and mom instilled inside of me. 1. Always be aware of my surroundings. 2. When shit hits the fan, stay calm and keep a cool head. And 3. Never reveal my secrets. Keep them guarded closely or risk the interest of those that would seek to use my power for their own gain. Those rules used to be easy. They were what I lived and breathed. That was until I met Nate. Ever since I fell into his dark eyes, nothing has been the same. Four years have passed, and guarding my secrets has only become more difficult, especially when I have the world’s biggest crush on my boss and have grown as close as family to the crew I work with day in and out. Yet even though guilt is a bitter pill I swallow each time I lie to my crew to cover up some oddity of mine that’s surfaced, it's what must be done. And I could have continued to do so. The dead don’t tell my secrets, so confiding in them is cathartic, until everything changes, and everything I thought I knew is tested. You see, dealing with the living is tough, but the problem with the dead, is that sometimes, they don’t stay dead.

They say blood is thicker than water, and if you’ve ever tasted it cold, you know that’s true. Warm and from the source, it’s like the sweetest nectar, but cold, it takes on a tangy flavor that I can hardly stomach. But the bonds of friendship are different; they’re not like blood or water. But more like sand in a bowl, a single crack caused by a kept secret causes the grains to slip through. I didn’t even realize it had happened, as one or two lost grains aren’t noticeable, but eventually, the sand ran out and I was left with nothing but a shell of regret. When the last grain fell, all I could do was face the madness of my making, discover who was truly on my side, and learn the hard way there is more than one type of mask people wear. Bonds will be tested, deceptions unlike any ever imagined uncovered, and in the middle of it all, I can do nothing but fight to keep living. Unfortunately, not everyone I love is fighting for the same.

Time means nothing in a world without clocks. Calendars don’t matter; as the days are only noted by the changing of the seasons. But when your family is in danger—time is everything. I’ve been betrayed, threatened, and hurt, but never broken. . . it’s the one thing I won’t allow. That was before my family was brought into the equation though. I’ll do whatever it takes to save them, even if it means sacrificing myself. And the men who’ve never left my side, the ones that have stuck by me even after my lies were revealed, are along for the ride. I only hope that when they learn of my final deal, the choice I made to ensure there would be help to protect not only them, but my parents too, that they’ll find it in themselves one last time to forgive me. The only absolutes that I have would be that I will risk it all to keep my people safe. Even if it meant that I’m left forsaken in the end. This is a 18+ whychoose novel.